What else could you ask for?

My work at the Camara Municipal de Angra is an interesting place to meet people who were born and raised on this island, and who will never leave it. Perhaps that's not the best way to put it but I really want to talk about my co-workers and some of the jobs they do...well, just one co-worker.

They all have something in common: they are from Terceira, they have had the same job for 10+ years and will probably have the same job until they retire, they get to interact with rural and urban people, and they show their island with pride.

The other day, Singer and I went off to shadow Manuel, the only person in the entire government system in charge of construction sites. He is in charge of taking note of every construction project as it starts, as it's going, and as it concludes. He oversees anything from a housing project to a project to rebuild a small driveway.

As we drove through the nicest and not-so-nice houses, he explained who lived there, what she or he did for a living, and then he commented on the inside of the house. This is how it went, all in Portuguese: "You see that big, white house in the corner over there? That's the house of _______ who moved to America to work and then came back to build it. It is really nice inside and it has a huge garden. Oh, and that's their cow."

As we passed a big old house, with the potential of being just as nice as the other one, I asked about it. He said that after the 1970 earthquake that destroyed Angra, many people just left the island, abandoning their properties. Now that he mentioned the earthquake and that may people abandoned their houses, I started seeing more abandoned houses along the way.

Manuel told us everything he knew about anything. I sat in the co-pilot seat and translated everything for Singer.

He passed many houses (even his own house and that of the other inspectors) and he said that this is their way of life...they have their little (or big) house and cows and enjoy their island. Their land is fertile, anything roots and grows here, and the green fields seem never-ending. Going from village to village, and from house to house, we also had the chance to stop briefly at "miraduoros," where you go and stare at the breathtaking view of the coast and the vast ocean. I have never seen anything like the many beautiful views this island offers. We even visited a spot for whale watching--I mean...what else could you ask for?

Laura R.